Kimberley Process Chair Visits Central African Republic

Visit is a game changer, says country’s president

The current chair of the Kimberley Process has visited the Central African Republic (CAR), marking the first time a sitting chair has done so.

KP chair Ahmed bin Sulayem (pictured, left), representing the United Arab Emirates, met with the country’s president, Faustin-Archange Touadéra (pictured, right), as well as its minister of mines.

The country remains under a 3-year-old KP embargo, although the diamond-producing area of Berbérati has been cleared for export, with the approval of the KP monitoring team.

“[The] visit brings hope to our long-suffering diamond industry,” said President Touadéra in a statement. “Being able to see firsthand what it means to our people and the effort they have gone to [meet KP mandates] after three years is a real game changer.”

“The effective resumption of exports from CAR was one of the main priorities of the KP chairmanship 2016, and now I’m able to see for myself what that means in real terms right here on the ground,” said Bin Sulayem in a statement.